Elder Law Archive
The High Cost of Aging
Long-term care (LTC) and how we pay for it continue to be major issues for Americans and our federal, state and local governments. Congress attempted...
Individuals With Special Needs
Although the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 reduced the importance of estate tax planning for many, it...
Valuable Resources
As practitioners in the world of estate planning and elder law, we're all aware that America's aging population faces countless and challenging legal...
Driving Miss Daisy
How do we deal with a client's diminishing capabilities? We need to encourage families to engage in important discussions about allowing an agent to determine...
The New Investment Alternative
Long-term care (LTC) insurance can be an attractive investment alternative for high-net-worth individuals for two reasons....
Liquidity Alternatives
As the baby boomers reach retirement age, more family businesses are faced with the issue of succession planning. The days of passing the family business...
Navigating the System
Advising clients on Medicare and Medicaid planning and eligibility has become increasingly complicated. Elder law practitioners must struggle to keep...
The Moratorium is Over
It's not news that individual retirement account owners must withdraw required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their IRAs after reaching age 70, or...
Settlor Incompetence and The Trustee's Quandary
It can be difficult on a personal level to watch a client, whom you may have known for years, begin to lose his mental capacity. But if that client is...
Long-term Care Is Critical
Perhaps the greatest development in the world of elder care and special needs law during 2009 was the lack of any real development. With the national...
Left Reeling
Economic uncertainties and the full weight of a bear market have many Americans reeling. The squeeze is on for workers: They can't borrow against their...
The Good and the Very Bad
Elder law experienced no cataclysms in 2008. But significant trends emerged and public benefits planning continued to mature. First, the good news: Medicaid...
A Senior Trust
Often, estate planners and elder law attorneys are faced with the challenge of trying to protect an aging client who's gradually descending into dementia...
Planning for Clients With Multiple Sclerosis
About eight months ago, my wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). We immediately started to learn everything we could about the disease, so...
Throw Mama From the Train
It just got harder to be old and anything short of wealthy. Chapter 2 of the new Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) focuses exclusively on long-term...
The SNT Trap
Special needs trusts (SNTs) trusts created for the benefit of a disabled beneficiary present exciting opportunities for corporate fiduciaries. They also...
